What I Read

Based on quantitative and qualitative data, the NEW News 2012 rankings tell us where a lot of Chicagoans are headed online each day to get news about the city, their neighborhoods, specific issues and interests.

But where do individuals go, especially those people who are big-time consumers of news because their jobs and day-to-day lives depend on being in the know? A long-time public interest PR professional, the managing editor of a major daily, a well-known columnist and reporter, a South Side community leader, a social media savvy publicist and the founder of a well-known start up took time out of their busy days to tell us what they read to stay informed.

Take note—these folks are super plugged in, literally, and are getting their news in every possible way all day long be it online, on their phone, in the car, at the gym, eating breakfast, from friends, on Facebook or, gasp! from the printed newspaper.

Ambar Mentor-Truppa, Vice President, Carolyn Grisko & Associates Inc.“Ambar saves her long form content for weekly, monthly or occasional reading, using a combination of online and print sources. Newsweek and Flipbook provide a national outlook. Most important Chicago news sources include Chicago Reader, Chicagoist, TimeOut and Chicago Magazine.”

Ernest Sanders, Northeast Regional e-Team, Partnership for a Connected Illinois; Owner, Sobering Book Publications“Sanders feels like he is well informed about Chicago issues but says established media often misses important street-level stories. He cites the pioneering community news portals set up by the Smart Communities Program in which residents report on what is happening within their own communities.”

Laura Washington, Columnist, Chicago Sun-Times, Political Analyst, ABC 7-Chicago“News directly from sources is also important to Washington. She reads press releases and other information from politicians to get their version of the story, and she believes that government agencies have become much more savvy—and effective—in their media relations.”

Valerie Denney, President, Valerie Denney Communications“As a public relations strategist for nonprofit organizations and issues, Valerie seeks news to understand the conversations taking place at the local, state and national level in order to position her clients in the context of those conversations.”

Fernando Diaz, Managing Editor, Hoy“After his iPhone, Diaz picks up his laptop and uses it to access a wide variety of news outlets ranging from the Chicago Tribune to the New York Times, Reuters, and Huffington Post, as well as leading Spanish-language news outlets around the world.”

Sam Yagan, Co-Founder, OkCupid“During the day Yagan gets news from his Twitter and Facebook accounts—primarily here and there when he gets a few free moments—and from email from colleagues, friends and family.”